Jim Murray

4 years ago · 2 min. reading time · 0 ·

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Game Of Thrones. Sorry, But I Never Got It.

Game Of Thrones. Sorry, But I Never Got It.

pPenyy = PesLike countless millions of other humanoids around the world I have watched the first seven seasons of Game of Thrones.

I have seen special effects in it that I haven’t seen before and I guess that’s admirable. I have seen costume design that’s incredible and sets that are amazing. I have seen a whole cast of characters who are acting the shit out of their roles. And I have seen amazing creatures and marvelled at them.

But despite all that, I still don’t get why it’s so amazingly popular.

From a story perspective, it really does seem quite simplistic. And maybe that’s part of it. People have had their heads so crammed with complex bullshit by the real world that a straightforward good versus evil fantasy could very well be seen as a counterpoint to that and very enjoyable.

From an overall theme perspective it probably creates the darkest picture of a world that has been created since the Terminator movies. So maybe, that, by contrast makes people feel good because their world isn’t anywhere near as dark and dangerous.

6456001b.jpgI’m pretty sure that the creators of this series had no idea what kind of entertainment cultural phenom they were creating when they first started out to do this series.

I saw them on Colbert one night and they honestly sounded a bit shell shocked. This has a lot to so with the fact that any creative endeavour is always going to be a shot in the dark. You never really know in advance if what you are doing will catch on. And who it will catch on with.

I’m sure the producers of the Rocky Horror Picture Show never dreamed that it would become the kind of uber cult classic that it has, and keep on humping some 45 years later. But there you go.

I watch a lot of TV and have for a long time. I find it quite relaxing. But if you do watch a lot, you tend, over the years to develop a level of discernment as well as certain benchmarks that you look

for. It’s all subjective, but this is my post so what else would it be?

8ba6b074.pngFor myself it’s the characters. In Game Of Thrones, the only character I really liked was the Sean Bean character and they killed him off in season one. After that it was simply levels of nasty. With Jon Snow being probably the least nasty and all the rest a little to a lot nastier.

So for me there was’t really a lot to hang onto. Once I saw how the GOT world was constructed, I figured that it would all come to a head in an epic battle, because what doesn’t these days.

And sure enough, here come the tall ice guys rampaging through the kingdoms, destroying everything in their path…yadda yadda.

I’ll watch season 8 at some point, when we ditch Prime for Crave TV. But honestly it’s not a priority.

20 series I think are better than Game of Thrones.
(In no particular order of preference)

The Black List
Chicago PD
The Newsroom
Hell On Wheels
Bosch
Justified
The West Wing
The Looming Tower
Godless
Mozart In The Jungle
The Marvellous Mrs Maisel
Outlander
Grace and Frankie
The Orville
Star Trek Discovery
The Good Wife
The Good Fight
Paranoid
The Bodyguard
Black Earth Rising


9671b805.pngJim Murray is a writer, a reader, a sports fan and a TV watcher who has been writing about the sports & entertainment worlds since1998, which is when he created the Couch Potato Chronicles.

He is also an ex-ad agency writer and art director and has run his own creative consultancy, Onwords & Upwords, since 1989. He lives with his wife in the Niagara area of Ontario, and works with companies that are trying to make a difference in the world.

You can follow Jim

On beBee: https://www.bebee.com/bee/jim-murray

On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jim-murray-b8a3a4/

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jimbobmur

On Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/y97gxro4


Comments

Jaqui Lane

4 years ago #5

Jim, Well you're ahead of me. I haven't watch a single episode but then I am not so much into fantasy fiction. Real life under Trump and some of the odd balls down here in Australia is better than fantasy in any event. Like you, I prefer to watch program/mini series etc that I can't predict the ending. It used to infuriate my former husband (perhaps this is one reason we're not together now) that I'd watch 15 minutes of something and tell him how it was going to end, leave the room and go back to reading my book. With you on The Black List, The Good Fight. How about Fargo (the series), Fortitude, Killing Eve, Peaky Blinders etc. Take me on a journey that's unpredictable. I am currently reading Organ Pamuk's The Black Book after belatedly reading My Name is Red. Now here's someone that can weave a story.

Pedro 🐝 Casanova

4 years ago #4

I have a question that keeps me awake at nights....why Jon Snow went to the Night Watch if there is no longer " white walkers " neither " the wall " Another question that also worries me to death....Why Donald Trump doesn't get a proper haircut.... And the last one....why Donald Duck never wears pants...but when is out of the shower he wraps a towel around the waist...Gosh...life is so difficult...

Jim Murray

4 years ago #3

#4
If you have to ask...it really doesn't matter.

Jerry Fletcher

4 years ago #2

Jim, Ya gotta call 'em the way you see 'em. I tried GOT once and just couldn't get into it. Couldn't bring myself to watch 7 shows much less 7 seasons. And so it goes.

Jim Murray

4 years ago #1

#1
Thanks for your comment. Everybody is going to have a different take on what's great and what's not. I watched a season of Breaking Bad, and it did nothing for me, although I thought it was well done. Different strokes etc.

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